Self-adjusting bookholder



May 27, 1 L, T. J. FLAHIVE SELF-ADJUSTING BOOKHOLDER 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Original Filed April 26, 1947 FIG.

INVENTOR THOMS J. FLAHIVE ATTORNEYS y 1952 T. J. FLAHIVE SELF-ADJUSTING BOOKHOLDER Original Filed April 26, 1947 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 FIG. 4

FIG. 5

INVENTOR THOMAS J. FLAHIVE ATTORNEYS Patented May 27, 1952 UNITED STATES TEN-T OFFICE 2,598,368 SELF-ADJUSTING BOOKHOLDER Ill.

Continuation of application Serial No. 744,067,

April 26, 1947.

This

application February 25,

1948, Serial N0. 10,761

11 Claims.

This invention relates to book holders and particularly to such devices in the form of a rack or stand arranged for holding a book or the like in any desired reading position, and whereby the reader is relieved of supporting the book or holding it open at the desired place.

Particularly this invention relates to improvements in such devices where automatic compensation is provided for the varying thickness and weight of the two sides of the opened book, as the reader progresses through the book, and in this respect, the present invention is a continuation of the invention disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 744,067, filed April 26, 1947, for Book Holder, now abandoned.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved book holder construction; to pretide such a device that will automatically compensate for varying thickness and weight in the two halves of the open book; to provide such a device in which the compensating means is adjustable for various weights and thicknesses of the books; to provide an improved book holder having page holding fingers for each side of the open book and in which the pressure against the page holding fingers is substantially uniform on each side of the book regardless of the weight or thickness of the book; to provide an improved self' comp'ens'ating book weight supporting means for book holders; to provide such a device which will hold the book pages level and fiat, in the same plane, regardless of the thickness or Weight of the two sides of the opened book; and to provide such a device that will function in every position or angle at which the book holder may be set in use.

A -specific embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved book holder construction.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same as taken on 1 ine2-2 or Fig. 1. a

Fig. is a sectional view as taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of a modified arrangement of the improved book holder construction, and

Fig. is a fragmentary sectional View as taken onli'n'e 5 5 of'Fig. 4.

As shown the drawings, and particularly in Fig l, the improved book holder comprises a supper in the form of a flat base or rack l, arranged tobe otatably Incunt-ed on the laterally extending '2 of a suitable rack or support, not shown, which may be placed beside a chair or a bed so that the rack orbase I can be disposed in front of the reader and at the desired level. The rack l is attached to the supporting arm by means of a pair of clamping brackets 3 mounted on the underside of the base I and arranged to receive the supporting arm 2 and to be clamped to the supporting arm in such a manner that the book holder or base I can be turned about the axis of the arm and set to any desired angular position'or tilt.

The construction of the mounting clamps 3 is clearly shown in Fig. 3 and it will be seen that the clamps are screwed, bolted or otherwise socured on the underside of the base I and are formed similarly to a split hub, having a clamping screw 4 arranged to draw the sections of the split hub together so as to clampin'gly engage on, the periphery of the arm 2 which passes through the hub opening.

The base I is provided with an upper stop or head member 5 extending along the rear edge of the base and projecting upwardly therefrom to serve as a head stop against which the top edges of the book covers are engaged when the book is mounted on the device and at the lower or front end of the base I, there is an adjustable bottom stop or bar 6 projecting upwardly from the surface of the base I and slidable thereacross, toward the head stop 5, to engage the lower edges of the book cover when the book has been positioned against the head stop 5.

As shown in Figs- 1 and 3, the bottom member 6 is mounted on a supporting rod l which extends in the fore and aft direction between a head bearing 8 mounted in the head stop 5 and a bearing member 9 attached to the base I adjacent its lower edge. The bearing member 9 is mounted on the base i by means of a bolt in which also extends through a suitable opening in the supporting rod 1 to prevent the latter from turning. I

The lower stop is is 'sl-idable along the supporting rod 1 and is provided with a clamping screw H having a knurled head which projects above the top edge of the lower stop whereby the step may be quickly loosened or tightened on the supporting rod 7 as it is being set in position to support the lower edges of the book cover.

The head stop 5 and the lower stop 6 are each provided with a pair of laterally spaced page holding fingers or members 12 which project inwardly from the top edges of the respective stops so as to over-hang the pages of a book mounted on the base i and each of the fingers i2 is provided with a roller I3 journaled on a horizontal axis parallel with the respective stop and arranged to engage the upper surface of the book pages adjacent their top and lower margins respectively.

As shown, a book supporting or bearing plate l4 mounted on the upper ends of a pair of laterally spaced coil springs l5 is provided, in the central area of the base or book rack l, to support the book and, by hearing upwardly against the book covers, normally urge the book pages into engagement with the rollers i3 of the page holding fingers l2. This bearing plate is a transversely extending element disposed above the supporting rod '1 and the springs l5 are disposed one on each side of the supporting rod 1 and are arranged with their lower ends attached to an adjusting or compensating member i6 which is disposed, transversely of the base or rack I, in laterally extending opening ll formed in substan- Y tially the central portion of the base or rack I.

The compensating member i6 is supported on a depending portion of the supporting rod I as will be hereafter described.

As shown in the drawings, the compensating member [6, and the opening ll therefor, are of a length to extend beyond the central portions of the covers of an open book positioned on the base I and the coiled springs l5, carried by the compensating member, are located so as to be substantially centered relative to the covers of an open book of average size so that the upward resilient pressure of the springs l5 will normally support the main weight of the book sections and urge the book upwardly to cause its opened pages to lie in substantially a common plane against the rollers l3 of the fingers l2. The compensating member i6 is carried or supported on a vertically extending shaft or leg 18 which projects downwardly through the opening ll in the support or base and the shaft to the support bar I by means of a T connection is. The member I6 is directly mounted on a bushing 20 which fits into a central opening 29 in the member l6 and the bushing is pivotedly secured to that member by means of a transversely extending pin 22 which extends through the member l6 and the bushing 20. The shaft 18 passes slidably through a central opening in the bushing 20 and the shaft is split longitudinally as at 23 to receive the pin 22. Finally the bushing 20 is supported on a knurled thumb screw 26, which has threaded engagement with suitable threads provided on the exterior of the shaft I8, and a coiled spring 25 is disposed between the bushing 20 and the T connection 19 to normally urge the member :5 downwardly against the thumb screw 24.

Thus, by adjusting the thumb screw 24 along the shaft l8, the level of the compensating member IS, with respect to the upper surface plane of the base i, may be adjusted so that the compensating member l6 may be set at various positions below the top surface of the base I. The pivot pin 22, extending through the slot 23 in the shaft or leg l8, serves to prevent lateral twisting or turning of the member l6 when it is below the level of the opening ll.

In order to maintain suitable resilient pressure on the covers of the two halves of the open book when the thickness of the two halves are relatively different, as when the reader is at the beginning or end part of the book, the compensating member I6 is arranged to tilt laterally or from side to side and such tilting is provided for by making the bushing opening 2| of the i8 is attached i compensating member slightly larger in diameter than the bushing 20. Thus the compensating member is free to tilt on the pin 22 until the sides of the opening 2i in the compensating member engage the periphery of the bushing 20. Preferably the opening 2| in the compensating memher is of a size that will permit a maximum tilt of about one-half inch above and below the parallel position of the member with respect to the plane of the base i, which tilt, together with the resiliency of the springs will serve to balance the weight of the book so that the upward contact pressure between the book pages and the page retaining rollers ('5 will be substantially uniform on each side of the book.

A modified construction for supporting the compensating member I5 is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and in this arrangement the guide rod 26 for the bottom stop 6 extends from the lower bushing 9 to an end fitting 27 disposed centrally in the base opening I! and in which the end of the rod or bar 26 is secured. The inner end of the rod 26 is then supported by a bracket member 28 which projects upwardly at the lower margin of the opening ii in the central portion of the: base i. In this arrangement the compensating. member i6 is mounted on its supporting bushing 20 in the same manner as before described for the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, and the bushing i slidably disposed on the depending shaft iii. The shaft 3, however, is threaded into a tapped side opening in the end. fitting 21 intermediate its ends, so as to provide a T connection and project downwardly therefrom at right angles; and the threaded connection with the fitting 21 is locked by means of a lock nut 29. Also, in this arrangement the spring 25, which normally urges the bushing 20 away from the fitting 2i, bears against the fitting on each side of the opening for the shaft 18.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, lateral tilt of the compensating member i6 is limited by means of a pair of laterally projecting pins 38 which extend outwardly from each side of the bushing 20 and engage the bottom margin of the bushing opening 2| to limit the amount of lateral tilt that the compensating member I8 may acquire.

In the operation of this device, the lower book supporting member 6 is released from its supporting rod and is moved downwardly so that the book may be readily placed on the bearing plate It with its upper margins disposed beneath the rollers 13. Then the bottom support is shifted upwardly until the rollers l3 of its page holding fingers are engaged on the bottom margin of the book pages, at which point the lower supporting member 6 is locked by means of the thumb screw 1 I. This adjustment of the bottom book supporting member 6, however, is made so that the member 6 does not bind on the edges of the book cover, the purpose being to hold the book and yet permit it to move up and down on the supporting springs and bearing plate as the pages are being turned.

The compensating member 16 is then adjusted up or down on the shaft it until the pressure of the rollers on the margins of the book pages is just sufficient to permit the pages to be readily dis-engaged from beneath the rollers on the right hand side and engaged beneath the rollers on the left hand side as the pages are turned. As the reader progresses through the book and its thickness is transferred from one side to the other, the compensating member IE will automatically tilt to maintain a substantially uniform pressure heapes-sea '5 tween the *book pages However, as the pressurevariesthe compensating member can bequ'ic-kly adjusted by meansof the thumb'screw -24 on the bottom side of the base l.

As has been previously indicated, the angular position of the base 'I on the supporting arm 2 may be set toanypoint desired by merely-loosening the 'clampscrews 4 which hold the base! on the supporting arm =2, and because of the arrangement of the book h0lding elements the device-ma-y =even-beused in an inverted position as when "the reader is lying flaton his back in bed with the book holder disposed above him.

'The mainadvantages of this invention reside in the construction which allows an adjustment of the upward pressure against the page holding fingers; and "in the arrangement whereby'such pressureis balanced between the two halves of the open book. Other advantages are to be found in the more-uniform and secure support provided for-the book, regardless-of its size or whether or not it is -bound'in boards, and in theease with whichthe device can be manipulated for change of reading supporting pressure.

Still further advantages are obtained through the automatic compensation for variation int-he thickness and weight of the opened book sections; and in the provision for adjustment of the :pressure against the page holding fingers whereby easy page turning can always be maintained.

Although several specific embodiments of this inventionare herein shown and described, it will be understood that details of the construction shown maybe altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A'book holder comprising a base having upwardlyprojectingheadand bottom stopmembers ada ted to confine the upper and lower ends respectively of a book positioned between them, inwardly extending retaining means on said stop members adapted to overlie the upper .and lower margins of the book respectively, a transversely 4,

extending adjusting member disposed between said stop members and adapted to tilt laterally on an axis lying parallel with the plane of said base, means to support said adjusting member on said base, and laterallyspaced yieldable upwardly bearing meanson the upper side of said adjusting member adapted to support a book positioned above the adjusting member and between said stop members.

2. A book holder comprising a base having upwardly projecting head and bottom stop members adapted to confine the upper and lower ends res ectively of a book positioned between them, :inwardly extending retaining means on said step members adapted to overlie the upper and lower margins of the book respectively, a transversely extending adjusting memberd-isposed on the iongitudi-nal center line of .said base between said stop members and adapted to be shifted in a direction normal to the plane of said base, said adjusting member being mounted to tilt laterally on an axis lying parallel with said base, means to sup-port said adjusting member and hold the same in fixed position relative to said base, and laterally spaced yieldable upwardly bearing means on said adjusting member adapted to provide a differential support for the respective halves of a book positioned between said stop members.

3. A book holder comprising a base having upwardly projecting head and bottom stop memposition and for change of the book nd the finger rollers -13.

ber adaptedto engage a bookand urge the same against said retaining means.

4. A book holder comprising a base having upwardly proj ecting' head and bottom stop members adapted to engage the upper and lower ends respectively ofa-book positioned between them, inwardly extending retaining means on said stop members arranged to-overlie the upper and lower margins of the book respectively, a transversely extending adjusting member disposed between said stop members, a shaft -mounted normal to the plane of said 'base in the central portion thereof and arranged to support said adjusting member, a pivot connection between said shaft and adjusting member having its axis lying in the plane parallel with said base and normal to said step membersmeans to shift said adjusting member along the axis of said shaft, and yieldable upwardly bearing means on said adjusting member arranged to-engage a book and urge the same against said retaining means.

'5. A :book holder comprising a base having upwardly projecting head and bottom stop members adapted to engage the upper and lower ends respectively of a book positioned between them, inwardly extending retaining means on said stop members arranged to overlie the upper and lower margins of the book respectively, a transversely extending adjusting member disposed between said stop members, a shaft mounted in the cen tral portion of said base and normal to the plane thereof, a pivot connection between said shaft and the center of said adjusting member arranged to permit tilting of said member sidewise. means to shift said adjusting member along the axis of said shaft, and laterally spaced yieldable upwardly beari-ng means on said adjusting member arranged to urge the two side portions of an opened book against said retaining means.

6. A book holder comprising a base having a substantially central laterally extending opening therein and upwardly projecting head and bottom stop members adapted to confine the upper and'lower ends respectively of a book positioned over said opening, inwardly extending retaining means on said stop members respectively adapted to overlie the upper and lower mar-' gins of the book, a transversely extending adjusting member vertically aligned with said opening and adapted to enter thereinto, said adjusting member being mounted to tilt on an axis lying parallel with the plane of said base and normal to said stop members, means to support said adjusting member, and laterally spaced yieldable upwardly bearing means on said adjusting member arranged to support the halves of an opened book independently and normally urge the same against said retaining means.

7. A book holder comprising a base having a laterally extending opening in its central portion and upwardly projecting head and bottom stop members adapted to confine a book disposed between them and over said opening, inwardly extending retaining elements on said stop members respectively arranged to overlie the upper and lower margins of the book, a shaft disposed centrally in said opening and normal to the plane thereof, means on said base to support said shaft, a transversely extending adjusting member mounted on said shaft and aligned with said opening, means to shift said adjusting member along the axis of said shaft and vary its position relative to the plane of said base, and yieldable upwardly bearing means on said adjusting member arranged to support a book and normally urge the same against said retaining elements.

8. A book holder comprising a base having a laterally extending opening in its central portion and upwardly projecting head and bottom stop members adapted to confine a book disposed between them and over said opening, inwardly extending retaining elements on said stop members'respectively arranged to overlie the upper and lower margins of the book, a shaft disposed centrally in said opening and normal to the plane thereof, means on said base to support said shaft, a transversely extending member mounted on said shaft and aligned with said opening, a pivot connection between said adjusting member and said shaft, said connection having its axis lying parallel with the plane of said base and normal to said stop members, means to shift said adjusting member along the axis of said shaft and vary its position relative to the plane of said base, and yieldable upwardly bearing means on said adjusting member arranged to support a book and normally urge the same against said retaining elements.

9. A book holder comprising a base having a laterally extending opening in its central portion and upwardly projecting head and bottom stop members adapted to confine a book disposed between them and over said opening, inwardly extending retaining elements on said stop members respectively arranged to overlie the upper and lower margins of the book, a shaft mounted on said base and disposed centrally in said opening normal to the plane thereof, a transversely extending adjusting member mounted on said shaft and having a central aperture through which said shaft passes, a bushing disposed in said aperture and slidable along said shaft, a pivot connection between said bushing and said adjusting member having its axis lying parallel with the plane of said base and normal to said stop members, means to adjust the position of said bushing along said shaft and vary the location of said adjusting member relative to the plane of said base, and laterally spaced resilient upwardly bearing means on said adjusting members arranged to support a book and normally urge the same toward said retaining elements.

10. A book holder comprising a base having a laterally extending opening in its central portion and upwardly projecting head and bottom stop members adapted to confine a book disposed between them and over said opening, inwardly extending retaining elements on said stop members respectively arranged to overlie the upper and lower margins of the book, a shaft mounted on said base and disposed centrally in said opening normal to the plane thereof, a transversely extending adjusting member mounted on said shaft and having a central aperture through which said shaft passes, a bushing disposed in said aperture and slidable along said shaft, a pivot connection between said bushing and said adjusting member having its axis lying parallel with the plane of said base and normal to said stop members, said bushing projecting below said adjusting member and having a pair of laterally projecting stops extending normal to the axis of said pivot connection, said stops being spaced below said adjusting member and adapted to limit its pivotal movement, means to adjust the position of said bushing along said shaft and vary the location of said adjusting member relative to the plane of said base, and laterally spaced resilient upwardly bearing means on said adjusting members arranged to support a book and normally urge the same toward said retaining elements.

11. In a book holder comprising spaced upwardly projecting head and bottom stop members adapted to confine the upper and lower ends respectively of an opened book, one of said members being adjustable toward and away from the other and each of said members having inwardly extending retaining means respectively disposed to overlie the upper and lower margins of the book pages, independent laterally spaced upwardly bearing spring means disposed between said stop members and acting normal to the common plane thereof, said spring means being supported at their lower ends only and disposed to urge the respective halves of the opened book toward said retaining means, and a single bearing plate extending transversely across the upper ends of said spring means and having its respective end portions only secured to said spring means.

THOMAS J. FLAHIVE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 704,003 Crist July 8, 1902 1,070,848 Schwab Aug. 19, 1913 1,267,358 Beidler May 28, 1918 1,307,261 Lee June 17, 1919 1,545,390 Barron July 7, 1925 1,695,767 Johnson Dec. 18, 1928 2,317,001 Thys et al Apr. 20, 1943 2,418,670 Schubert et al Apr. 8, 1947 

